Alcubierre Drive
The Alcubierre Drive is the human name for the FTL drives, sometimes also called warp drives. One of the most advanced pieces of technology in Serva, it allows spacecraft to travel at speeds many times the speed of light, though it will still take months or years to get anywhere important or interesting. Many different components are critical to the function of the drive as well as aiding it in its function of allowing travel between the stars, towards which being able to go faster-than-light alone is not sufficient. Buoyancy Fluid allows substantial change in velocity to be performed with negligible inertia felt by sentients aboard, Dark Matter Processing Systems refine pure Dark Matter into usable fuel, whilst Fusion Rocket Motors allow for subluminal traveling speeds in places where it benefits to be slower-than-light and not wasting valuable and expensive starship fuel. Process Alcubierre drives circumvent supposed limits on relativistic speeds by moving the space around ''a ship rather than the ship itself, projecting a massive (in most cases, Jupiter-sized) "warp bubble." The process requires an element which possesses negative mass, the likes of which are found among Dark Matter. While other sources such as Antimatter exist, refining Dark matter is the cheapest and most efficient way, although it is itself a very expensive and difficult process. Inertia Travelling through the warp bubble, and in particular stopping to exit the warp bubble cause great ''inertial forces. Because of this several precautions have been made in order to ensure the survival and wellbeing of crewmembers. Buoyancy Fluid One of these technologies is Buoyancy Fluid, which is a viscous goo-like substance which the interior of the ship is submerged in. It acts as a direct counter-force to inertia, pulling back where inertia pushes forward. This tends to be a safer and more convenient way to travel, but for some races necessitates the use of a breathing apparatus when aboard the ship. Speed Early warp drives are capable of crossing just under five light years in one day, or about 1800 times the speed of light (henceforth c). As warp travel becomes easier and the technology more refined, speeds of 3000c are possible. Exceeding 3000c is difficult except with the most efficient warp drives, but usually the extra speed is not worth the trouble. At 1800c, a Starship can cross: 1,800 light years in one Earth year. 150 light years in one Earth month. 34.56 light years in one Earth week. 4.93 light years in one Earth day. 0.20 light years per hour. 0.0034 light years per minute. At 3000c, a Starship can cross: 3,000 light years in one Earth year. ~250 light years in one Earth month. 57.47 light years in one Earth week. 8.21 light years in one Earth day. 0.34 light years per hour. 0.0057 light years per minute. 3300c warp drives are common in ships built by Baikonur Stellar Initiative, such as the Nogai-class Heavy Frigate and others. They are 10% faster than usual. 3,300 light years in one Earth year. ~275 light years in one Earth month. 63.217 light years in one Earth week. 9.031 light years in one Earth day. 0.374 light years in one Earth hour. 0.00627 light years per minute. Category:Technology